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I got my refund for my 15.4" C2D MBP, and was just about to place my order for a 17" glossy when I saw the above article.

I'm confident they'll address the screen coating issue that's causing the grainy appearance in the 15.4" model, but not with the current displays - Apple obviously, and sadly, is determined to clear their inventory with these displays. Based on the feedback from Apple discussion thread, display problems persist in 2007:

I just wanted to chime in all the grain issue. It's definitely a problem with the screen itself. It has absolutely nothing to do with the graphic card being used. I don't use Macs, however i purchased a new Dell e1405 notebook and it was extremely grainy, I couldn't stand it. I thought it was just Dell so I returned it. I just ordered a new Toshiba Tecra A6. Sure enough, this screen is grainy as well. It seems to be the way that the screens are being made these days, its ashame. I also noticed this on a Dell Latitude D620 that the screens on that are grainy as well. (the D610's weren't grainy). Its tough looking at my desktop LCD which is very sharp, then looking at the screen on my notebook, which is very grainy. Note that the notebooks I ordered are with a matte finish, but when I go to the store I can still see grain in several models that are glossy. Eh...

I personally work with large graphics file and I got to say, the matte screen it seem to be more then fine. Off course the Glossy it look better, but then when you make client presentations and show the work on paper it make feel like you just use toilet paper for you presentation. So if glossy is definetively looking better, for doing most of design work, I believe the "grainy" screen is more then fine.

Sorry to dig up this old thread, but I'm looking to buy in June (after WWDC) and would love to know if anyone has received, or has laid eyes on a non-grainy screen yet. I know I haven't.

Hoping for the LED screens to be announced at WWDC, myself. Sure they might bring their own problems, but I have a harder time plunking down over $2500 for a model several revisions old that AFAIK still has a 100% defect rate. I'd rather take my chances with new technology, as it's mathematically impossible for the rate of defects to be any higher than the current model, and at least it would have an excuse for being defective.

Looks like Apple is about to face its next date in court: a San Diego filing by private citizens Fred Greaves and Dave Gatley calls for a class-action lawsuit, accusing Cupertino of deceptive advertising with regard to the displays on its MacBook and MacBook Pro machines -- specifically alleging Apple's screens aren't nearly as good as they were advertised to be. Citing observances that MacBook (Pro) displays are too often "grainy" and "sparkly", that Apple uses dithering to achieve higher color depths than is feasible for the equipment, and that apparently customers seeking repair or replacement were rebuffed, even "chastised" by rogue Geniuses, telling users they are "too picky about... the quality of the display." So, will this lawsuit blend? Time -- but mostly lawyers -- will tell. (Engadget)

Hopefully they succeed. I have £2,000 worth of laptop here and the screen is not very good, certainly not 'pro'. I await a trip to the Apple Store to see a Genius to replace my screen. I need some ammo to back up my claim for a replacement.

For colour pro photo and artwork it isn't a very good screen. It does seem a bit better when booted into Windows, how bizzarre.

I'm not buying until they switch to LED-backlit screens, hopefully they will not have made the same mistake they did with the last batch of 15" screens. They have been aware of this problem for a very long time, and at some point (according to someone on this thread IIRC) said they were fixing it, so I should hope even before this litigation they were already working to prevent it in the future.

It's not just on the MacBook Pros... I also noticed last time I was at the Apple Store, that these crappy screens are being used in everything but the top-of-the-line iMac, and even in some of their stand-alone displays! Apparently, unless you're buying THE top-of-the-line item, you don't DESERVE a decent display. Or else they just think we're idiots and won't notice! >.<

PS -- Good luck with the lawsuit, whoever is doing it. That's great news. I love Apple but whoever is responsible for this gaffe of theirs needs to be fired, and they should offer free screen upgrades for every MacBook Pro user.

I'm glad to hear of the lawsuit. I was very pleased with Apple's quick and courteous refund when I returned my MBP C2D with a nasty grainy and poorly lit display, but I'm hearing many horror stories of others getting treated badly. Apple needs to acknowledge this and do the right thing.

I think that it goes for these forums as well. When you get enough complaints, I think it's important for people to open their minds and consider that there may be a problem, and Apple may have dropped the ball. There's a few very consistent "display deniers" across many threads in these forums, so much so I'm beginning to wonder if Apple has got someone on the payroll to monitor these forums! OK, that's an outrageous conspiracy theory but I do hope that it can accepted by all that Apple has pumped out a LOT of bad displays in this last generation of MBPs. This screen grain issue is FACT, and it's not going away (well, hopefully it goes away with the new revision!)

My are fingers crossed that the new LED displays will bring Apple back to the high-quality displays that they have produced in the past and their customers deserve.

I always wondered why gradients always looked like CRAP on my MBP. On one occasion, I even went to the System Prefs to check to make sure I was displaying millions of colors. Little did I realize that my machine was flat-out lying and could only display 262,000 colors. Great.

Unfortunately the only person to benefit from class action suit is the Lawyers who will get millions and we will get a $25 coupon for our next computer purchase!

I think the point of these lawsuits is not so much about making money for the customers, but about forcing the companies to pay for their bad practices. What incentive would Apple have to use quality displays if no one complains when they let such flaws slip by? If they're not losing money, there's little motivation for them to stop.

Many of us are in a position where a simple refund or boycott of the product is not an option. We are Mac OS users, and we need a laptop with pro features. There is no other model in the world that meets those requirements, so the only choice is to buy one with a known flaw. Anything that gets Apple to correct this for existing owners and discourages them from cutting corners or ignoring problems that come up in production in the future is good in my book. I love Apple and don't want to see them damaged by this, just inconvenienced enough to wake them up a little.

Hi there,
Here we go again .. defective screens ... ahh ... deja vu, deja vu!!
Anyone remember 'White Spot Syndrome' on new 15" G4 PowerBooks back in 2003?
I bought my PB in November 2003 and the dreaded white spots appeared 4 months later! The screen was eventualy replaced by Apple during their general recall scheme .. I also remember that it took months for Apple to even admit to a screen problem at that time...

I was in the London Apple Store the other day checking out a potential dream purchase and I saw that while some 15" MBP screens appeared 'grainy', some did not ... Matt screens seemed to be the worst ....
Now, just when I am in a position to upgrade to a fully loaded 17" MPB - money has been carefully saved - it appears that I could again be waiting for Apple to recall all defective MBP's for screen replacement. Talk about history repeating itself!
But please, please not the 17" screens .. because I'll be buying a 17" MPB next week!

I'm looking at them right now. I got my PB in Sept. 03 and the white spots started three weeks later. The Albooks were basically brand new when I bought mine, and I already had heard of the white spots before it happened to me, so I knew exactly what it was when the first one appeared. Apple and their defenders were saying it must be users abusing their screens by squeezing them or placing heavy things on top of the computer with the lid closed. I knew the easy potential for it to happen, so I was especially careful, and it obviously did not help or slow down the process. I also had the defective latch that a lot of people had, which maybe didn't help.

I never got my screen replaced because by the time Apple admitted there was a problem I was on the road and didn't have time to be without my PB while it was repaired, and there was some sort of cutoff date (i.e. if you don't have a warranty -- which I didn't, meaning it took them over a year to address this -- then you must do it by such-and-such date or else it's not covered).

This nearly four years of staring at a screen full of white spots, boxes and lines, is the reason I'm holding off on the MBP even though my PB is getting quite long in the tooth. "If you don't like it, just don't buy one" is not an option for me, and I'm sure for many others. There is only one Mac OS pro laptop, and every single one of them (of the 15" variety, at least) is flawed. I can't hold off this purchase forever, but I was hoping Apple would have at least stopped putting these screens in new models coming off the assembly lines.

At this point I want one of the LED screens, in the hopes that it will be from a different/better manufacturer, and because battery life is important. If those are flawed in a different way, so be it, I'll deal with that when it comes, but at least I'm not throwing away thousands of dollars knowing for 100% certain that I'll be staring at a flawed screen for another four years.

I never got my screen replaced because by the time Apple admitted there was a problem I was on the road and didn't have time to be without my PB while it was repaired, and there was some sort of cutoff date (i.e. if you don't have a warranty -- which I didn't, meaning it took them over a year to address this -- then you must do it by such-and-such date or else it's not covered).

From the Apple website;

How long is the 15-inch PowerBook G4 Display Repair Extension Program available?The program covers affected PowerBooks for two years and six months after the first retail sale of the unit. Apple will continue to evaluate the repair data and will provide further repair extensions as needed.

Bummer that you never got yours repaired in that time, but you should still try and get it done. Fwiw, I've had mine replaced twice now - second time was very painful as it took around two weeks for them to do it.

I just got a 15" (matte) from my folks when I was visiting them in the US. Got it back to London and after a few days wondered why the sceen seemed to be bugging me. Think it is this grain that people are talking about. I have a PISMO and although not as bright it is a much nicer looking screen to me. According to what I dug up on google I have one of the screens that is only capable of 256K color depth.

Question is this. As it was bought in the states at ClubMac can I return to the Apple store if I want to bitch about the screen? I thought that after you have bought a piece of kit from an OEM reseller any problems after 2 weeks you have to go to Apple? Any thoughts appreciated.